


Journey Into Silence

by ScreamingLotus



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, English, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Lio Misses the Whispers of the Promare, M/M, Minor Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos, One Shot, Post-Movie, Post-Reflections, Rebuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22915720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScreamingLotus/pseuds/ScreamingLotus
Summary: The world has been released from the fiery grip of the Promare. Lio Fortia and Galo Thymos have made it their new mission to help rebuild the world together. Although the rebuilding efforts have been going smoothly, Lio cannot help but feel uneasy. He must learn to live without the calls of the Promare who once comforted him.
Relationships: Lio Fotia & Galo Thymos
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Journey Into Silence

It was strangely lonely. Lio Fotia could no longer hear them: the echoed voices from beyond flowing within him, within everyone he had grown close to. They simply weren’t there. He couldn’t hear their cries, hear their long suffered silence screaming from within their souls. He couldn’t feel them anymore. He couldn’t feel their voiceless rage. It was as if his vivid world had suddenly gone to black and white. A piece of him had left him, and while he was thankful that the war was over, there was still apart of him that missed being part of something greater than himself.

There was a connection that him and the other Burnish had shared that he wasn’t sure anyone else would understand. His once pieced together family had all gone their separate ways, and Lio couldn’t help mourning the loss of their company. Naturally, Lio was happy that everyone could have the quiet life they deserved, but there was a deep void left in the pit of his stomach that longed to be filled.

He glanced down at his hand, almost hoping a flame would appear and the voices would return, but there was only deafening silence. 

“Lio!” He glanced toward the voice, but he didn’t need to look over to know who it was. The voice was loud, proud and unmistakable. Galo: a hopeful idiot who saved the world with his optimism and endless drive. Lio couldn’t help but smile as Galo beamed at him with rows of glistening white teeth. “You’re not sleeping on the job, are you?”

“The job?”

“Oh, are you not on the job right now?”

“Currently? No,” Lio replied.

“Great!” Oh no. “In that case, we were going to run over and do some clean up. Since you’re free, you can help clean up your mess,” Galo said happily, “And afterward, we’re going to get pizza.” Of course, they were. Galo only seemed to know one food group, and it was pizza. 

Lio was grateful to him, though. It was strange and terrifying to rejoin a society that once feared and hated you. Galo made every effort to make Lio feel welcomed, and it made a great deal of difference. Lio wasn’t sure the big oaf knew just how much, but he hummed casually in response as he dropped his hand. “Yeah, alright,” he replied, “I’ll get Gueira and Meis too. I’m sure they’re just hanging around upstairs anyway. Maybe there are a couple others around too.”

“Right! The more the merrier,” Galo said, triumphantly putting his hands on his hips as he laughed proudly in response. Lio smiled at his antics, glancing briefly over his left arm before he stood up to go upstairs to collect his former gang members. 

Lio was able to gather quite a few members. Along with the fire rescue team, they were quite the full force. They were tasked with clearing rubble and debris along a blocked stretch of road. If they could get it cleared, traffic through the city would be a little better. Lio could only hope that each day was a little better. 

They worked for hours like a well-oiled machine, working to get rubble to a manageable size, loading it to be hauled away and dropping it into larger craters that were being constantly filled in by other reconstruction efforts. 

Galo let out a sigh, wiping sweat from his forehead as he admired the mess they had cleaned so far. It felt like they had gotten nothing done, but to Galo, they had almost cleared a mountain. Lio wondered if Galo ever felt exhausted being that hopeful all the time, but that was one of the things he liked about him. There was a glint in his eyes that told Lio everything would be okay; something was naturally calming about Galo. You knew his hand would be there, outstretched with a bright smile, if you needed it. 

Galo looked over Lio as he worked. “Do you ever think about going back home,” he asked. For the past couple of weeks, Lio, Gueira and Meis had been living in the Burning Rescue firehouse. He wasn’t sure how long they were welcome, but they weren’t sure where else to go. None of them properly belonged anywhere. They had been toying with the idea of moving in with each other, but Lio wasn’t sure it was a solid plan yet.

“Home,” Lio wondered out loud, pausing in his work.

“You have a home, don’t you,” Galo asked sadly.

Everyone had a home. Lio was no exception to that rule, but it was not a place he would go back. A Burnish’s life was one of silent agony; creation was the unspoken sorrow that poured from their depths. The flames had screamed for help, just as the people that were taken over by them. Kray had killed someone, the pain of which had flowed immense power into him. Lio, on the other hand… his trauma had been different in nature, but no less excruciating. 

He hated to think about it and forced the memory out of his mind. Lio glanced up to Galo and gave a small, half-hearted smile. “No,” he replied, “Everything I know is gone.” He thought for a moment, going back to cleaning rubble. “I guess that means I could go anywhere,” he hinted, “Be anyone I want to be. There’s a world of possibility there, right?” Lio hummed, chuckling at his own joke. “Isn’t that what you would tell me?”

Galo grinned. “It is! Exactly right!”

It was easier said than done, of course. There was a world of possibility in front of him, but the thought was mostly overwhelming. He knew his destiny as a Mad Burnish: find the Burnish, take them somewhere safe and fight anyone that tried to stop him or hurt his family. But now? Lio had agreed to clean up the city, and he certainly wanted to stay around Galo, but beyond that everything felt so foreign. So quiet.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a gentle nudge from Galo. “Well?”

“Well,” Lio asked with a teasing tone in his voice.

It seemed to go over Galo’s head, though. “Well, what’s your plan,” he asked impatiently.

“You’re asking me to plan my entire life while we’re cleaning rubble?” Lio paused his work and put his hands on his hips as he stared at Galo. He cocked one hip to the side, leaning forward slightly as he stared. Galo rubbed his neck and looked away nervously, chuckling to cover up his nerves. “Well,” Lio taunted.

“Well, when you put it like that.”

“Hmm… has anyone said anything?” Lio pulled back, unsure of himself suddenly. “I know we’re probably in the way at the firehouse.”

Galo gasped, holding his arms out and frantically moving them. “Wait, wait,” he said hysterically, “No, that’s not what I meant! You three are welcome to stay as long as you need to! Seriously. Everyone really likes having you around, and it’s not like you’re in the way or anything. Besides, you’ve been through a lot.”

“You’ve been through a lot too, you know. You should take it easy once in a while.”

A surprised expression washed over Galo’s otherwise confident face. There was an uncertainty hiding behind his eyes that Lio had only seen a few times before. Lio had lost his surrogate family, and Galo had lost his, in a way. When his family had died in that fire, Kray had inadvertently become everything to the blue-haired idiot. Kray didn’t deserve the type of blind admiration that Galo had so desperately given him. Equally as true, though, Galo hadn’t deserved to be tossed aside by the man that had consumed most of his childhood. 

Lio smiled and tilted his head. “So, I think that means it’s time for pizza, right,” he asked.

The light in Galo’s eyes instantly returned. “Yeah,” he cheered, running off to help the others finish up and put away equipment. Lio watched after him, feeling his heart flutter in his chest. 

The group went out for pizza as a reward for their hard work. Cleaning up the city was a huge task, but little by little, they chipped away at it. Lio was happy that Mad Burnish could be apart of the efforts. Though, he couldn’t help but feel distracted. There was a tightness in his chest that he couldn’t explain. Being around Galo, though, helped quell that feeling; he was loud and talkative, a natural leader despite being such an idiot. Galo never fit into a box, never suppressed himself. It was strangely refreshing to be around someone like that.

After finishing their pizza, they returned to the station for the day. Galo went home, much to Lio’s disappointment, but it was always an inevitable part of the day. It was strange staying in the station. It was a large building with a lot of empty space where one could contemplate the meaning of existence while everyone slept soundly upstairs. 

Lio Fotia sat by the window with a cup of hot tea, dressed in a long, baggy t-shirt that covered his shorts. He stared up at the night sky through the window, wishing he could see the stars through the city lights. Back home, he could see endless stars, as if they flowed like rivers. Lio glanced at his hand absently. 

“Lio?” The question was strangely timid. Lio hadn’t expected anyone to be here, except his two friends, and even then, everyone should have been asleep by now. But the voice was unmistakable. He glanced up to see Galo watching him. “You’re still awake?”

Lio tried to cover his shock with a smirk. “I could say the same to you, you know?”

“Well, I, um,” Galo hesitated, “Okay, I admit, Meis told me you were having a hard time sleeping, and I wanted to check on you.”

“Oh, he did, did he?”

“D-don’t be mad at him, though,” he said. 

“I’m not mad.” Lio let out a sigh and nudged the kitchen chair out with his foot, inviting Galo to sit with him. Galo took the invitation and sat down. Lio looked him over lazily; this was probably the first time he had seen him dressed so casually – a mildly baggy grey jacket that synched at the waist with fitted jeans. Galo watched Lio expectantly. “It’s really quiet,” he admitted, “Everything feels so quiet. Before, I felt connected to them.”

“The Promare?”

“The Promare, the other Burnish… it was like we were linked by threads of fire. I could feel where they were, when they were in danger. That’s how we knew if a new one popped up.” He sighed. “Before it would happen, we could feel the fire raging inside of them, hear it crying out to us.” Lio looked at his hand. “My world feels as if it’s gone completely dead.”

“That must be hard,” Galo said sadly.

“I know the others must be going through the same thing, so I hate to complain like this.” Lio sighed and dropped his hand. “I feel guilty for wanting it back. To want it back… it’s like admitting I want to be an arsonist. That causing fires was who I was, but that’s not it.”

“No!” Galo leaned forward, surprising him. “I know that’s not it. Everyone would understand. It’s sort of like you lost a part of you, isn’t it? It feels like it.”

Lio’s shoulders relaxed as he watched him. “Yes,” he admitted softly, “Like there’s a hole in my chest.” 

“You know,” Galo said shyly, “I admit, I sort of miss putting out fires.” He leaned back in the chair, looking down as he smiled to himself. He clearly felt embarrassed; Lio could see his neck turning red. “I probably could have done it forever. I could have spent my whole life chasing you and putting out fires.”

“My hero,” Lio teased.

Galo blushed. “I know I shouldn’t feel that way. It’s not like I want people to be in danger or anything, but I felt like I was really making a difference, you know?”

“I know,” Lio replied softly. 

“Part of me is thinking: now what?” Galo looked back to him. “Is that how you feel?” 

Lio smiled. Galo was naive, sure, but he was strangely inciteful when he stopped for a moment to think. Setting down his teacup, Lio smirked and stood slowly. Galo watched him, confused. A hopeful idiot who had saved the world, saved him. “Galo?”

“Mm?”

“Do you know why we were able to defeat Kray,” Lio asked as he slipped into Galo’s lap.

Galo thought for a moment, his eyes turning upward toward the ceiling as if to avoid Lio’s lustful gaze. “Uhh,” he hesitated, “Well, I guess because we were stronger?” It didn’t sound sure, and Lio knew that Galo didn’t fully believe that that was the real answer.

Lio hummed, though, reached over to pull Galo’s face back toward his. “Stronger? Kray was always stronger than us.”

“But we beat him.”

“Yes.”

“So, then,” Galo replied, thinking it over, “It’s something else!” Lio laughed gently and nodded. Galo beamed, seemingly proud that he had gotten the right answer despite not answering the question quite yet. “Something else.” The two were silent for a long time, until Galo finally looked Lio firmly in the eyes. “We connected.”

Lio felt his heart skip a beat as his mouth opened, stunned by the firm response. “Because we connected,” he repeated, “Because I trusted you, with all my heart, to do the right thing. Because you put your faith in me with unabashed optimism.” Lio smiled, draping his arms around Galo as he leaned into him. “I never thought I would trust anyone like that again.”

Galo swallowed, his heart skipping in his chest. “Lio?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it okay if I kiss you?”

Lio laughed; he hoped, more than anything, that Galo would never stop being his sweet, dorky self. “You’re an idiot,” he cooed, “Yes, it’s okay if you kiss me.” He smiled as Galo seemed to light up at the thought. He closed his eyes and leaned forward nervously. Lio took charge, closing the gap between them and pressing their lips together in a firm kiss. When they pulled back, the two let out soft, content sighs before immediately pressing together once more, unable to stay apart for long.

“Lio,” Galo gasped softly after a moment. 

“Mm?” Lio pulled back gently, watching him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just… you’ll stay here, right? With me?”

The room fell silent, but the silence was comfortable, for once. Lio smiled lovingly and practically flung himself into Galo’s chest. He held him, gripping his shirt in his fists as he desperately held onto him like a lifeline. “Galo,” he whispered, “I found you. Why would I leave you now?” Galo blushed, surprised, but slowly wrapped his arms protectively around Lio, relaxing into him.


End file.
